Reefton

Of course if the Aussie were to get the s#*ts over this blocking Kiwis from betting with their agencies and (1) refuse to pay any commissions on Aussie betting on NZ Racing and/or (2)drop coverage of NZ Racing altogether from their screens then this could seriously shoot NZ racing fair in the foot. Pretty big risk and the likes of Vlandys aren't going to take too much shiite from little old NZ It isn't like the Aussies would be lapping up the quality of our product. the only advantage we have is the time of day our product is available to them. If Entain is good enough it will grab those customers back from offshore agencies. If not then the serious punters will get around it using those VPN apps regardless. This gets interesting when the reality comes out from De lore and co who have bothered to study it And when Entain is looking to squeeze some extra profit where will that leave the outlying clubs when they refuse to service their meetings with TV coverage or totes? You cannot even play them off against another (offshore) provider and run your own totes

thanks

Pretty much resigned to their fate and of course when you have no raceday the enthusiasm sooner disappears They have gifted their share of the gates to the other three clubs and, I think, are a committee of two now. Still generously sponsor the other three clubs each year though I think it is safe to say the Westland Racing Club is history

Buggered if I know But he hasn't heard the last of January 5th 2023 I can assure you of that.

Doesn't always compute through to improved fields I have discussed that multiple time before

We're happy enough. Once they set them in the draft it is not worth wasting your time trying to change them as they won't. Just the world we live in

We shall watch with interest to see how it goes then Provided I haven't completely lost interest by the time it gets t the races of course For all that since you are in the inner circle with the team I hope you haven't received inside info as to how it has broken in and has been working initially and all of this offshore buying isn't helping the NZ breeding industry Davey Boy. The Waikato mafia will not be best pleased!

you named the stable you believed I was referring too. I simply said I wouldn't.

well all right Give us a demo and lets see how easy it is. Presumably they are there at the moment and have done some buying. Nominate your pick from the nags and let us know - somewhere down the track we will all be able to marvel at your wonderful judgment. But then again there is another possible conclusion about your judgement ........

I never bagged Te Akau at all. I just don't hero worship them like some. I have had a horse with them in my time(admittedly only a ten per cent share) which worked perfectly satisfactorily, whilst I wouldn't say we live in each others pockets the Richards(parents) are friends of ours and I hugely admire Jamie's achievements. While I don't know Mark Walker at all I do recall once walking past him and being greeted with a grin and a 'how ya going?' which contrasts with some people's claims he is grumpy or ignorant. Karyn Fenton Ellis was ALWAYS pleasant and happy for a bit of a chat and so was David the one or two times I spoke to him. It was an expensive exercise but I went in with my eyes open and plenty might say a trip to the Accountant is an expensive exercise. Te Akau have even(on occasion) supported Reefton and God knows I appreciate (that and every other operation that chooses to attend our meeting) David Ellis obviously takes massive risks at the sales so good luck to him but please please please don't tell me NZ Racing would collapse if he stopped his racing activities tomorrow. Nor should any credence be given to the claims that Te Akau has won so many(not sure) KM's in a row. There were two different trainers and in the case of the number of 2000 Guineas wins there have been four different trainers or combinations(including the Autridge/Richards combo). There are a lot more serious issues in NZ racing than whether there is a risk Te Akau will cease trading. Equally I can understand where De Lore, clearly a breeding industry fan, is coming from in asking what the breeding industry would do without David. At one stage you could have looked at the yearlings sales and asked what the hell would they do without Patrick Hogan. Much as he deserved all the accolades he received when his operation's influence began to wane after Zabeel finished others stepped up. Whether Murray Baker was tough on his horses I have no idea but he has had some bloody good ones off a lot smaller budget that others. Plus he would appear to have been an outstanding judge of a young horse and whether it is Aussie material at a very early stage. Andrew Forsman seems to have inherited the knack. And finally have a look on Gavelhouse - not every hot priced sale graduate that ends up in the TA regime ends up with its name in black type. That is a the nature of the game - if we knew which was going to be the best horse Sheik Muhammed(or however you spell his name) would have everything and we would have nought - to be fair if you read the TA advertising you would think there was a virtual guarantee of a share in a G1 top liner instead of the perhaps 5% chance in reality.

your words not mine. I'm not naming names

We are well aware of that but people know what I mean. If I had said Forsman you would say he has only been going a year But your close personal mates at TA insist on telling us all the time how many 2000 Guineas 'TA' has won or how many consecutive Karaka Millions 'TA' has won. They never mention the number of different trainers have been at the helm when those races were won. If you want to play games don't change the rules for different players

Actually the Riccarton Trainers are all going to be expected to up their games at Trackwork now the Fashion Coordinator is in place. Freda for instance will be required to put on her best mocka and face paint for attendance of a morning as far as the blokes go it will be like the good old days when the trainers turned up in collar and tie of a morning. Add a little decorum to the outfit I say! Cant think of what the hell else this person is going to do

Don't talk utter piffle. It is well known that there is only one trainer who gets listened to at Riccarton and they only spend part of the year there. There is even a tongue in cheek name for the grass track they used before it was actually allowed to be used the '## #### grass'. There might be another who is in the management's good books but MR Pitman is neither of them and never has been. Most of the rest of them, if they were truly honest would be scathing of the CJC regime.

Well anytime anyone says anything you are always either disputing what they say or blaming them for whatever disaster has befallen them. Clearly you have all the knowledge and all the answers hence me querying why you want me to tell you how Riccarton or the NZ racing industry operates. However.... I just see on Facebook Riccarton has appointed a bloke Zane Tate as 'Fashion Coordinator'. My initial reaction was the boys are exactly one month late with this breaking news but I am concerned this might actually be true. How the hell has the CJC got any business spending Industry money on a 'Fashion Coordinator'?

You are the know all not me

Baker Forsman is probably just as successful if not more especially if you apportion on the basis of yearling spend. They just don't blow their own trumpets or hog the camera that's all But I don't see why NZ Racing particularly needs D Ellis. If he wasn't winning the big races someone else would be. As I said the breeding industry are the ones who need David Ellis and even if he wasn't there then we would probably see a lot more Aussie's here without them having to compete with his buying power. And maybe a few more locals stepping up. Currently he seems to have a monopoly on the top lots(I am not bemoaning that stating a fact - he has the balls to put the money up then good luck to him) De Lore's comments re David Ellis taking all the risk however..... You would be a bit naive to think he has no committed parties(if not vendor shareholders) when he buys for those stallion syndicates. I no longer look at his(any anyone else's) websites but what used to strike me was how many Te Akau yearlings had 100% sold on them as soon as they were posted.

Exactly Just like the Baker Forsman stable. Feed your promising ones straight to Aussie

Shows how much you know about the way things operate at South Island headquarters. I just cannot understand how you don't step up the plate and put yourself forward to take on a major role in NZ Racing. Apparently you have all the answers.

From where I sit the moral of that story is that the racing industry might need one D Ellis but the breeding industry needs him and effing sight more!

That Northern Trainer wouldn't be one who announced he was off to Aussie a few years back but who has mysteriously stayed put would it? Talked about how great Aussie was and how easy it was going to be over there. All that glitters is not gold!

You're a bit bloody thick if you cannot see proof of a Northern cartel. Stop trying to put Pam, a licence holder who could well face adverse consequences if she was to say all she knows, in a compromising position.

Well I am in the throes of arguing pretty strongly with the RIB over the way my Club was treated in January. If I wasn't such a dogmatic prick I would have given up months ago but I(and my Club) am absolutely being treated like a servant. These people have an arrogance and total 'we know best' attitude that is simply astounding ESPECIALLY in light of the series of disasters(usually in regards tracks) that they have failed to see coming. Standing up to these guys is not an issue to me BUT it is increasingly obvious that they are just going to dead bat the issue until I run out of enthusiasm. I can also do it because I have no fear of recrimination(and a pretty good grasp of the english language as well) but the likes of licenced persons do not or may not have that luxury. As an example the RIB is insisting the jockeys are Reefton were consulted and were in favour of abandonment. One senior rider, who I will obviously not name, told me Oatham just announced to them that the meeting was off. What realistic chance have I got of expecting this rider to stand up to support me? None and I would certainly not ask the person to do so. I saw the way Mouse McCann's opinion, having ridden the track, and every other South Island venue, for thirty years. was dismissed out of hand. At least one trainer has been threatened with a misconduct charge over the events of that day and their quite reasonable reaction These people have been granted the power to make and implement whatever rules they like and, in this case break them as well when they felt like it. I am not entirely sure what realistic options the stakeholders have to take meaningful action against these guys. It all comes down to those who appoint them and the system of appointments. That is one of my favorite topics of course but the day the election of representatives by the industry itself was done away with was the beginning of the end. Nobody in the hierarchy gives an eff about the stakeholders and, until that changes, the game will continue its downward spiral.

I dare say it will be heavy enough Michael!

Which Michael do you think I am talking about? I presume not Pitty - he gave up on you site because of your unreasonable, irrational, incoherent and incessant attacks on him(and anyway Pitty is MRP not MJ O'B)